I bet everyone is really sick of hearing medical terms these days, right? ‘Tested positive’, ‘symptoms’, ‘vaccine’, ‘quarantine’… Well be ready to hear some medical terms in this article that will make you less upset! Because the band we’re talking about in this article is Farmacy! And their newest album is ‘Elixir’! We had the chance to talk with Selene Sol, vocalist the US Metal band. We also wrote a review on their album. Click here to jump straight to the interview with Selene.
Review
‘Elixir’ is a 14-tracks album over 48 minutes. The album is, in short, Heavy Metal as it should be. Here are 4 things we loved about ‘Elixir’.
1. The Vocals
Farmacy did great job at not providing us with a continuous and monotone speed or harshness in their music. That could be a test for vocalists who would have to sing over all these variables. Some vocalists ace it when it comes to harsh vocals, but the quality of their vocals is marginally affected when they have to sign with slower or less aggressive melodies. This wasn’t the case for Selene Sol, who gave us a specimen of how she can sound great in both kind of vocals right from the start in IV. In Otherside, we heard her softer voice at its best, while in songs like The Silver Valley Wolfman and Ain’t Your Fool, we heard some of her more aggressive singing voices, along with the band’s other vocalist who she forms with a great duet in many songs in the album.
In Summary, Selene Sol was able to reflect the lyrics and the emotions they carry all through the album through her voice, which she made homogenous with the music in the best way possible.
2. Cinematic and Conceptual Elements
One other thing Farmacy was great at is delivering the conceptual feeling of the album to their listeners. They did that through the many interludes the album has, that were like small trailers for the next song, and made me personally eager to listen to what’s next. In Wolfman At Large there were spoken words that got us excited for the next song. In others like Ghosted Rage there were sound effects and spoken words that put us on the right track to feel the anger in the next song.
Another way Farmacy fueled their music with excitement is through sounds inside the songs that are related to the its concept. This is the old school method of doing so. Two examples on that from the album is the wolf growl in The Silver Valley Wolfman done through vocals and the thrilling guitar riff through the song that serves the same purpose. Brilliant way to make the song more touchable to the listener!
3. The Guitars
One of my favourite things on ‘Elixir’ is the guitar music we hear through the album. There are some majestic riffs all through the songs. My favourite riff is right after the intro of Sinister. Other songs with some wonderful guitar based instrumentals are Ain’t Your Fool, Krampus, and The Silver Valley Wolfman.
4. Favourite song: “Ain’t Your Fool“
This song for me is the perfect showcase for the rest of the album. All of the album’s best features appear in this beautifully angry song. The vocals are quite satisfying to the ears (if you love aggressive vocals), and the music in it is one of the best on ‘Elixir’. Great song!
I used that statement before for one or two other albums and will use it again. If you’re one of these Metal fans who listen to 80s and 90s music and say: “Why don’t they do stuff like that anymore?”, we recommend‘Elixir’ to you. It’s a wonderful album with clear old school Heavy Metal influences that is brewed in a modern way making it unique.
Ratings
The FemMetal Team has given the album the following rates:
Betty
7.0/10
Mirk
8.0/10
Rebecca
8.0/10
Total
7.5+/10
Interview
And here’s the interview we had with Ekaterina before the release of the album. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Hello Selene. How are you and the other members of Farmacy doing today?
We’re all doing great! Thank you for having us!
We will talk about your newly released album ‘Elixir’ in a bit, but first how would you introduce your band Farmacy to our readers who are reading about you for the first time?
We’re a band formed in North Idaho. We have a forever changing style and sound, giving something for everyone!
Your band released the full length album ‘Elixir’ earlier this year. How are you feeling about the reception this album got so far from the fans?
So far Elixir has been doing very well! We have Curtain Call Records as part of the team and is helping us get our music out there digitally during a no tour duration.
That’s great! Hope you can tour with the album soon. Releasing an album requires a lot of work from the band. Writing, recording, production, promoting, live performances, and many other things are all in the process of releasing the work. What is your most favourite part of this process and least favourite one?
My favorite part of a new release is live performances, for sure. It allows to connect with the visuals along with the performing. My least favorite is promoting! I take forever to do promo videos because I’m horrible at it haha and I’m so very glad we have Ryan’s wife, Jenn of Gin.ger.ly designs! She does all art, promotional fliers and videos/photography!
Was the release process of ‘Elixir’ affected in a way or another by the pandemic the world is going though?
Just after releasing, and planning our first tour with the main destination being Metal In The Mountains in West Virginia! It was unfortunately postponed.
You use a lot of medical terms in your album and band’s name and graphics. Is there any reason behind that or is it just the concept you want your band to be known for?
We like to incorporate a “healing” aspect to our music. When I was writing lyrics to IV, I just envisioned the world holding their wrists out for us to run our music through their veins. The guitars really fed my emotion when writing lyrics.
To get to know your album more, we will play a game called ‘Which song’. I will give you a certain scenario and you’ll have to give me the song that best can perform a certain task in this scenario.
Which song on ‘Elixir’ would you use to show someone who never listened to your band what your music sounds like?
Sinister
Which song on ‘Elixir’ would you use to make a friend going through something feel better?
Otherside
Which song on ‘Elixir’ would you use to explain what Heavy Metal is to someone travelling to our times from the past?
Krampus
If all the songs on ‘Elixir’ came to life and became humans, which one would you be best friends with?
I love this one! So Far Away
If aliens with more advanced technology invaded Earth, and we became subjects to them, but it was discovered that these aliens have a weakness that is that their brains melt when they listen to guitar solos, which song from ‘Elixir’ would you charge at the aliens with?
Hahaha this is awesome! Ain’t Your Fool
Finally, if an archeologist discovered a working copy of ‘Elixir’ 1,000 from now in the remains of an ancient vehicle, and he was able to listen to it, which song on the album would he like most?
Silver Valley Wolfman
Thank you for playing Selene. Have you ever been treated in a sexist manner? How would you face sexist and what advice do you give to young people who face discrimination on daily basis?
I have been fortunate to not experience that! My advice to those who do face this, keep positive vibes in your life and know you are beautiful, strong and powerful beings!
What is your most valued music-related moment from when you were growing up?
Going to my first concert, Cheap Trick. I have always gravitated towards outdoor festivals. I love the smell, the energy and how everyone comes together to celebrate music.
If you had the elixir 😉 to heal the world from one problem it is facing now, whether it’s the pandemic or hunger or any other problem, what would you use it on?
I would use it on cancer. F*** cancer!
Thank you for the interview Selene! It was a pleasure chatting with you. Good luck for you and Farmacy in your future projects?
Thank you so much for hanging with me and the guys!
